Front post construction



Dec. 1, 1931. J. LEDWlNKA 1,834,523

FRONT POST cousmucuon Filed Feb. 6, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet (\i [N VENTOR. 0f JOSEPH LEDWINKA ATTORNEY.

Dec. 1, 1931. J. LEDWINKA FRONT POST CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 6, 1930 IN VEN TOR. JOSEPH LEDWINKA.

Patented Dec. 1, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH LEDWINKA, OI PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO EDWARD G. BUDD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 01' PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A COR- POEATION OF PENNSYLVANIA FRONT POT CONSTRUCTION Application filed February a, mo. Serial 1%. 428,201.

My invention relates to vehicle bodies and more particularl to such bodies constructed with separate si e wall and front units, the invention being particularly concerned with a the Structure of such bodies in the region of the front door posts and the manner in which the front and side wall units are joined together in final assembly.

It is an object of my invention to provide is a joint between the front and" side units which is strong and readily efi'ected,and this is accomplished in large measure by locating the joint at the front post and by the provision of suitable reinforcing means, the relaas tive arrangement of the outer panels formingthe major elements of the front and side units and the front post reinforcing member being all conducive to the attainment of this object. In the accompanying drawings forming a 20 part of this specification,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 is a. partial front elevation of a body front construction according to the invention. Figs. 3 to 6 and 7 are detail sectional views 25 taken, respectively, on the correspondingly 1 numbered section lines of Fig. 1. v

Fig. 6a is a detail view corresponding to Fig. 6 showing a modification of the invention.

According to my invention the front unit of my invention terminates at the front door post and is formed in large part b an outer panel 10 of relatively light gauge eet metal shaped to form the cowl and windshield frame, and in its rear edge which extends to the margin of the front doorway opening with a rabbeted portion 11 to receive the front door overlap. This rabbeted portion also provides an offset flange 12 for attaching the rear edge of the anel to adjoining elements.

The-panel is extended, downwardly below the doorway opening at 13 and upwardly over the roof quarter at the to as at 14.

The side unit shown in dotte lines in Fig.

45 1 and in full lines in the sectional views is likewise formed in large part by an outer sheet metal panel 15 of relatively light gauge and may extend entirely around the front doorway opening.

59 At the front margin of the doorway openpanel with the front panel and strongly seing it is formed with a transversely extending jamb face portion 16, the inner edge of which is flanged to provide a door overlap, and to finish and reinforce this flanged edge, it is reversely bent upon itself as shown at 17.

At its outer margin the transversely extendin Bprtion 16 is extended forwardly at 17, and t 's portion 17 forms a lap joint with ofi'set flange 12 of the front unit panel 10. The panels at their overlapped joint are reinforced by a front post reinforcing stamping 18 of generally inwardly facing channel section and of relatively heavier gauge which extends substantially from top to bottom of the body and is applied to the inside of the joined panels in nested relation therewith and joined thereto.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the side unit panel is wrapped 70 around the outer or bottom side 19 and a portion of the front wall 20 of the post reinforce 18 and the transversely extended portion 16 thereof is seated against the rear wall 21 of the reinforcing stamping.

According to this form of the invention the reinforce may be pre-assembled with the side panel 16 prior to the assembly of the side cured thereto by the spot welds, as indicated at 22, to form an integral part of the side subassembly.

The rear edge of the front panel 10 is turned inward by a flange 23 which nests with the angular portion 16, 17 of the side unit panel in the final assembly and is rigidly secured thereto and to the front post reinforcing stamping 17, by riveting or spot welding, 'or both.

At the side of the windshield opening the front panel 10 may be formed with a windshield receiving rabbet 24, as shown in Fig. 5. its edge being bent back upon itself to provide a smooth edge finish and to reinforce it, and braced to the rear wall of the reinforcing stamping 18, by a s acing bracket or brackets, as the U-shaped bracket 25, secured by screws 26 and 27 to the panel edge and rear wall 21. Such bracket may have, as

outer front shown, an extension 26 for mounting the windshield adjusting clamp.

In their lower portions below the windshield opening, the stampings 18 are interconnected by the instrument board stamping 28 or other reinforcin member jointed to the front wall 20 thereo as by the screws 29. Both the front panel 10 and the side panel 15 are reinforced in their lower portions by an inner panel, as 30, see Fig. 7, which is joined to the outer panel '16 at their lower edges by crimping the edge of the outer panel over the inner. The lower portion 31 of the outer panel of the side unit. and the lower portion 13 of the outer panel of the front unit are brought together in the present Y instance, edge to edge and butt or otherwise welded together, as indicated at 32, Fig. 3. At the top, the side panel, like the front panel, is extended upwardly to form the roof quarter,

as at 33, and in the final assembly, the adj a- 'cent edges of the u ward extensions 14 and 33 may overlap eac other, as shown in Fig. 4, so as to permit of securely joining them by spot welding, or by welding along the edge of the side panel portion 33 as shown at 34. Obviousl' the particular manner of joinder of the edges of the front and side panels at top and bottom may be varied from the specific joinder shown, but in any case it is desirable that they be integrally joined at these points, and preferably by a welded joint which requires a minimum of cleaning and smoothing after the weld.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 6a, the post reinforce stamping 18 is shown joined to the offset rear edge flange 12' of the front panel 10', by spot welding its bottom wall 19 to said edge flange so that the post stamping 18 in this instance may form a portion of the front unit sub-assembly.

According to this modification the forward extension 17' of the side unit anel is nested within the rabbet formed in t e ed e of. the anel 10 against the ange 12 and secured in final assembly, by rivetlng or welding, or both.

In both forms of the invention the outer panels, front and side, are formed at their meeting edges in the front margin of the doorway opening to nest with each other and with the reinforcing member of heavier gauge, and secured together and to the post I in said nested relation to form the novel improved post structure and final assembly joint.

What I claim is: l. A front post construction for vehicle 5 bodies comprising an inwardly facing rela tively heavy gauge reinforcing member and .formin thejamb face of the door, a relatively pi the forwardly extendin flanged portion relatively together in the ront door post region, and

an inner heavier gauge reinforce extendin substantially from top to bottom of the body and nesting with said combined li ht front and side wall stampings, and j oine thereto.

3. In a vehicle body construction, a front panel terminating at its rear edge in substantially the plane of the front door post and formed in the edge of the doorway with an offset portion providing a rabbet to receive a door overlap, and extending down below the doorway opening to the bottom of the body, and at the top over the roof uarter, and a side panel stam ing extendingfrom top to bottom and over t e roof quarter, and formed in its front edge to provide the j amb face of the door, and a portion extending forwardly therefrom to overlap the offset portion formed by the rabbet of the other panel, and a reinforcing member extending substantially from top to bot-tom of the body 1 and nesting in the angle formed by said door jamb portion and the overlap, and rigidly secured thereto to reinforce the panels at this point, portions of the last-named panel extending above and below the door openings and being welded to the corresponding portions of the front panel to form a continuous panel surface.

4. A front post construction for vehicle bodies comprising a side panel having anangular formation at its front edge facing forwardly and inwardly, a front panel having an angular portion at its rear edge nesting with the said angular portion of the side panel, and a reinforcing member extending substantially from top to bottom of the body and having an angular formation nesting with. the nested edges of said anels, all of said parts being rigidly joined together in their nested relation.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature. I

JOSEPH LEDWINKA. 

